crow Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Any pros and cons, opinions on Schweizer trainers would be greatly appreciated. Crow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apiaguy Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Any pros and cons, opinions on Schweizer trainers would be greatly appreciated. Crow I own and operate a few older hughes/schweizer helicopters... They are the perfect trainer and personal helicopter in my opinion...I don't consider the r22 a good trainer and its only good attributes seem to be fast and cheap.269's are:1. cheap to operate compared to any other substantial trainer... ie. bell 47, enstrom, R442. good safety margins... rotor inertia.3. field maintainable... as a mechanic I like being able to do all the work myself... it saves $$4. having been around along time, there are lots of spare parts available.5. enough lifting capacity to do some light aerial work. I constantly look at upgrading to something more substantial but just can't justify the extra cost and hassles for what seems like marginally better performance. I would like an R44 but they are too expensive for me to justify as they are a newer design that haven't been out too many years and they have such low component times the hourly costs become high. The enstrom would be nice for a little extra power but again, the aquisition cost is high and it doesn't really offer much more than the Schweizer from a training platform standpoint... if I was to do more lifting it would be beneficial. So as long as I just focus on flight training and light aerial work the Schweizer seems to fit the bill for most bang for the buck while still providing a safe platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superglide Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 I own and operate a few older hughes/schweizer helicopters... They are the perfect trainer and personal helicopter in my opinion...I don't consider the r22 a good trainer and its only good attributes seem to be fast and cheap.269's are:1. cheap to operate compared to any other substantial trainer... ie. bell 47, enstrom, R442. good safety margins... rotor inertia.3. field maintainable... as a mechanic I like being able to do all the work myself... it saves $$4. having been around along time, there are lots of spare parts available.5. enough lifting capacity to do some light aerial work. I constantly look at upgrading to something more substantial but just can't justify the extra cost and hassles for what seems like marginally better performance. I would like an R44 but they are too expensive for me to justify as they are a newer design that haven't been out too many years and they have such low component times the hourly costs become high. The enstrom would be nice for a little extra power but again, the aquisition cost is high and it doesn't really offer much more than the Schweizer from a training platform standpoint... if I was to do more lifting it would be beneficial. So as long as I just focus on flight training and light aerial work the Schweizer seems to fit the bill for most bang for the buck while still providing a safe platform.Having just over 100 hrs in the original R22/Beta II-I am going to continue my training in the Schweizer 300C/300CBI.The Robinson is a very sensitive machine and you better be on your toes at all times.Size does matter having flown a B-206III for an hour,it's the old saying "you get what you pay for" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galadrium Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 We operate a 2006 CBI. As far as a helicopter trainer it is probably the all-around best, IMO. It has pretty forgiving flight characteristics as opposed to the R22. Its easy to fly and maintain, and there are plenty of parts out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick1128 Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Having flown the 300C and CBi, plus the Enstrom, I have formed a few personal opinions. The Enstrom has some interesting qualities that make it worth at least a look. The life limit items are fewer than other helicopters, plus the rotor system has much more inertial than the 300. It is quite forgiving, like the 300. However, it's power to weight ratio is not as good as the 300. The 28A I flew was doggy. But then again it was an instrument ship and I am no light weight and the instructor was a real heavy weight. Of the 300's I prefer the 300C to the 300CBi. More power, higher gross, etc. It is also forgiving and has crisp handling. On full down auto, it will take a good deal of mishandling with no complaint. The instrument panel is more organized and the preflight is much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crow Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Having flown the 300C and CBi, plus the Enstrom, I have formed a few personal opinions. The Enstrom has some interesting qualities that make it worth at least a look. The life limit items are fewer than other helicopters, plus the rotor system has much more inertial than the 300. It is quite forgiving, like the 300. However, it's power to weight ratio is not as good as the 300. The 28A I flew was doggy. But then again it was an instrument ship and I am no light weight and the instructor was a real heavy weight. Of the 300's I prefer the 300C to the 300CBi. More power, higher gross, etc. It is also forgiving and has crisp handling. On full down auto, it will take a good deal of mishandling with no complaint. The instrument panel is more organized and the preflight is much easier. THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR INPUT! I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO STARTING ON WEDNESDAY! Crow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pogue Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 The only down sides for the 300 series from the student standpoint is they tend to be $25 to $50 an hour more than an R22, and depending on your location they may be a little harder to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick1128 Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 The only down sides for the 300 series from the student standpoint is they tend to be $25 to $50 an hour more than an R22, and depending on your location they may be a little harder to find. That really depends. The school I did my commercial add-on at used 300C's and CBi's. The price was higher than the R22 nearby, until you considered the fuel adjustment price that the other school hit you with. With that the price was actually cheaper with the 300. Plus things like block time and the like will also help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeloJunkie Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Crow - I flew te 300s for my private addon and loved them. Never flew the 22, but have flown the 44 Raven II once to try it out. Went back to the 300 fr my IFR training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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